Top December Funny and Fluffy Prompts
by PullTogether
Summary: Slice o' life responses to the reddit Fanfic daily word prompts. Many thanks to red-velvet-panda (on tumblr) for letting me use the image she drew as cover art. Check out her page for a whole bunch of awesome Zootopia artwork! My Christmas gift to the fanfic readers out there, this "story" is now complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Put on**

Judy said, "Oh look, my Aunt Gerty knitted all of us matching sweaters."

Nick scowled. "I'm not wearing that outside."

"Why not? Aww come on. Just imagine how cute we'll look wearing these."

"Fluff, you and Little Carrots can wear yours, but foxes don't wear sweaters with carrots on them. Plus I'm pretty sure it's against the law for a predator to wear wool."

Judy rolled her eyes. "As long as it isn't still attached to any other part of the sheep it's fine."

"I have sensitive skin, and I feel like I'm breaking out in hives just looking at it." Nick held up the sweater. "How big does your Aunt Gerty think I am, anyway? This would fit Rita."

"Speaking of Rita, I think this trunk warmer must be for her."

Nick laughed. "If she doesn't want it, we could use another sleeping bag. And I decided I'll wear the sweater, if you wear the one I got you."

Judy looked at him incredulously. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What? Do you know how long it took me to find a tasteful sweater in your size?"

"Nothing that says, 'I'm with foxy' can ever be considered tasteful."

* * *

 **Naughty**

Bonnie set the tray of cookies on the table to cool. She looked at the clock. Just enough time to make a quick trip to the bathroom and get back to wrap them up for Gideon before he got there.

Seconds after she left, Nick arrived and glanced around the kitchen before he grabbed two cookies. He subtly rearranged the other cookies around the large gingerbunny to fill in the gaps on the tray and stuffed the two in his mouth as he left the room.

Judy could swear she'd seen Nick go into the kitchen. She started to walk back out into the living room when she spied the tray of cookies. Certainly no one would miss the one little star cookie in the corner? Judy heard someone coming, so she grabbed the cookie and ran out the back door.

Nick peeked around the corner and sniffed the air. Relieved that the room was empty, he walked over to eye the gingerbread bunny. He noticed someone had already taken the star that was in the corner, so he grabbed two more cookies. The tray was looking pretty sparse now, but again subtly rearranging the remaining five cookies made the crime a bit less obvious. He gobbled down the cookies before he followed Judy's scent out the back door.

Four small rabbits stealthily crept across the kitchen floor, and four small paws reached blindly over the edge of the table, each snatching a cookie before they noiselessly fled the room.

Seconds later, Stu came through the back door and sighed with relief, thankful that he hadn't missed out on Bonnie's cookies. He picked up the gingerbunny and had just taken a bite when his wife stepped through the door from the living room and screamed.

* * *

 **Nice**

"We can't accept your gift, sir."

Even though Judy had barged into his office, Chief Bogo didn't look up from the paperwork on his desk. "Is it unsatisfactory?"

"No, it's just… sir, I thought you said this was from all the officers? But I found out that you bought us these. No one else contributed. We think you're being way too generous."

Bogo looked into her eyes and quietly asked, "Then why isn't Wilde here as well?"

Judy rubbed her neck nervously. "Because he didn't want to give them back."

Bogo snorted. "Then I've misjudged you. Between the two of you, apparently he's the smarter mammal."

"But sir-"

"Hopps." He'd said her name loudly, and her ears flattened against her head. Bogo paused and rubbed his temples before continuing in a normal voice. "Judy, I have misjudged you. Both of you, from the very beginning. This small gesture is my way of making amends."

"But-"

"Don't interrupt me. It's been a rough few years for you and Officer Wilde. A honeymoon you can both enjoy is what you need right now."

"I… I don't know what to say." Bogo raised an eyebrow, and she smiled. "Thank you, sir."

* * *

 **Cozy**

A trail of wet mittens, wool hats, and jackets covered with half melted snow lead the way to a bundle of red and gray fur wrapped in blankets on the couch. The soft warm glow from the fireplace gently illuminates the room where the fox and rabbit rhythmically breathe as one, pajama clad bodies curled around their daughter, who dreams of cold snow forts and steaming hot chocolate.


	2. Chapter 2

**Gingerbad**

Judy asked, "Where did you get a giant gingerbunny cookie?"

Nick grinned. "We baked them, of course."

"Them? How many-"

"Only a dozen. We would have made more, but we ran out of flour."

Judy looked at the cookie again, which was nearly as big as she was. "How did you even bake this? It's too big to fit in the oven."

"We borrowed Rita's kitchen."

"You borrowed… how did you even turn an elephant-sized oven on?"

"Oh come on, Fluff. That was easy. Mixing the dough and rolling it out was the hard part."

"And Holly helped?"

"Of course. Oh and she learned two new words today. 'Cookie' and another one she may have heard me say when I burned myself taking out the first batch."

"Uh-huh. Where is she now?"

"Taking a nap on the couch." Nick hesitated for several moments, before adding, "I dunno how to prepare you… you'll just have to see for yourself."

Nick followed Judy into the living room where they found Holly asleep, her arms wrapped around a partially eaten cookie that was twice her size.

Judy couldn't help but smile as she said, "I should be so mad at you right now."

* * *

 **Whirl'd Peas**

"You had one job, Nick."

"And it's done, Fluff."

"But you sent invitations to my entire address book!"

"I thought you said to invite everyone? It took forever to write out every name and address, by the way. And my tongue may never recover from licking all those envelopes."

"Why did you change the wording I gave you? You put _and guests_ on the invites. Not just one guest, Nick. _Guests_. You do realize that you've pretty much just invited all of Bunnyburrow to our wedding, right?"

"It's still not too late to elope, you know."

* * *

 **Deck the Halls**

Judy looked at the painting of a goat headed _thing_ that Nick was holding. "You aren't hanging that up."

"But it's fox tradition!" Judy looked at him dubiously as he continued. "It's supposed to remind kits to be good, or he'll show up and throw them in a basket and take them away."

"What does he do with them?"

"I think he eats them or something."

Judy laughed and shook her head. "That thing will probably give **me** nightmares, so there's no way we're going to terrorize our daughter with it."

 _Author's Note: It's a picture of Krampus, for those who don't know._

* * *

 **Yule Like It**

Nick never cooked for himself, so Judy figured he'd appreciate a home cooked meal. She wasn't the greatest cook in the world, but her mom had insured Judy's culinary skills were at least passable. Now that she had a new place with a kitchen, Judy was looking forward to cooking again, and making Nick dinner seemed like a great way to break in her new cookware. Though she'd never prepared meat before, and she didn't think her mom would be much help.

Judy spent the afternoon zoogling for recipes as the chicken thawed before she got to work. She hadn't counted on nearly vomiting when she opened the package and touched the shiny pink flesh. Judy sliced the meat into chunks, her stomach lurching as she tried not to think about how she was chopping up another animal. Cooking it was worse. The smell was horrible, and she ran to open the window as the meat sizzled in the skillet.

Of course Nick realized immediately what she'd made for dinner when he stepped through the door that evening. He hugged Judy and kissed her right between the ears. "Thanks for making dinner, Carrots, but you know I'm a vegetarian, right?"

* * *

 **Over the River**

"This is a terrible idea, Carrots. I don't think I'll even fit."

"Where's your sense of adventure, Slick Nick?"

"I think I left that behind when you thought getting into an elephant-sized picnic basket, so we could literally be carried somewhere to visit a wolf crime boss, was a good idea."

Judy laughed. "I'm pretty sure the elephant coming to pick this up won't be wearing a red cape."

Nick shook his head as she hopped into the basket. He clambered in behind her and closed the lid. "Cozy. But if we end up in hell I'll never forgive you."

* * *

 **Stop It!**

It was their first holiday together as a family, and Judy wanted to make it special. She knew Nick's holidays as a kit hadn't been great, so she'd done all the things that had made her holidays special. A big celebration with some of her family and all of their friends, decorations everywhere, including not one but two trees, gingerbunny cookies, mistletoe, nonstop music. But if anything it all seemed to put Nick in an even less festive mood.

Judy hadn't been able to find the right gift for him yet, so one evening she joined Nick while he held Holly, who was asleep after he'd read a bedtime story to her.

"Hey Slick, you doing ok?" Nick nodded, and she slid under his free arm and snuggled against him. "What else can I do for you to make this holiday special?"

Nick grinned. "It looks like you've got everything set for the kiddo here."

"But I'm not asking about Holly. What is it that **you** want?"

Nick sighed and smiled as he looked into her eyes. "Judy… I already got everything I didn't even know I wanted, and it's sitting right here on the couch with me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Some Assembly Required**

Judy spoke louder than usual. "Nick, just cram that little pointy thing into the hole already."

Nick sat on the floor of Judy's apartment, mouth agape, while Bucky and Pronk laughed on the other side of the wall. A sly grin stole across his face and he waggled his eyebrows. "I'll have you know, there's nothing little about-"

Judy interrupted him when she dropped the half of the bookcase she was holding. "I swear, if you finish that sentence, you're going to be one dead fox." Bucky and Pronk laughed again, one of them guffawing so hard that Judy could hear him snorting as he gasped for air.

She pounded on the wall. "And you two over there… shut up!"

Nick looked quizzically at Judy. "Carrots, it's ok. It's just a bookcase."

"Yeah, a bookcase we've been putting together for over an hour now."

Nick stood up and patted Judy on the head. "I think you're just getting hangry."

Judy brushed his paws away. "Hangry?"

"Yeah, you know… so hungry that it makes you angry."

Judy tried to hide her smile. "Yeah, you're probably right." She sighed. "I haven't gone food shopping yet this week, so there's nothing to eat here." She brightened. "Wait, I can pick something up from that deli that just opened around the corner."

"Sounds great. I'll have the shelves done by the time you get back. Here, let me give you some cash..." He patted down his pants pockets. "Darn, wouldn't you know it? I must have forgotten my wallet."

Judy rolled her eyes before she yanked the door open. "Whatever, Slick Nick."

She slammed the door and Nick flinched. Seconds later he heard Pronk speak. "Dude, don't you know not to tease rabbits when they're hangry?"

* * *

 **Snowfall**

Snowball in hand, Judy stealthily crept along beside the tall hedge. She could hear Nick walking on the other side, his paws crunching in the new fallen snow. Judy froze when he paused, and she tried not to shiver in the sudden silence as snowflakes gently fell around her. She heard him walking again, his pace quickening as they approached the end of the hedge. Judy raised her arm, preparing to strike, when she heard a sudden creaking noise. Too late she remembered the metal bench on his side as Nick pummeled her with a snowball.

* * *

 **Gifts**

Judy decided to surprise Nick and see if he was up for a little window shopping on their day off. She hoped he'd show interest in something so she could figure out what to get him for Christmas.

Before she went inside, Judy noticed a tiny box near the entrance of Nick's apartment building. It was on the ground, next to a niche in the side of the stoop, and was so small it could have been a leftover piece of confetti from last month's parade. On closer inspection, she discovered it was a present, wrapped in festive red paper with a miniscule bow.

Judy was trying to decide if she should pick it up, when she spied another colorful speck several feet away next to a small doorway in the side of the building. She walked over, and sure enough it was another tiny present. Further down was another, and another. She followed the trail into the alley next to the apartment building, where she spotted Nick.

It was hard to see him in the dim light, but Judy could tell he was crouched down, his back to her as he fiddled with something on the ground. He stood up and stuffed a bundle in his pocket when he spotted her. "Hey, Carrots."

"Hey, Nick. What's with all the tiny presents?" He froze, and an odd expression crept across his face. Finally, he gave her a forlorn smile and walked past her. "Let's go sit while I tell you a story." She followed him across the street, where they sat on a bench facing the alley.

He wrung his paws nervously and looked at the ground as he spoke. "When I was in high school, there was this kid, a gopher named Rufus. He didn't have any friends, and he spent all his time reading and hiding from larger predators." Nick swallowed and glanced at Judy. "Like me, and the other hoodlums I used to hang out with." He looked away from her and stared across the street. "One day, me and the gang found him poking around an alley. He tried to hide a bag from us behind his back, so we pushed him to the ground, and I took it away. Later when I found it was full of ratty little knit caps and jackets, I just tossed it all in the trash."

Nick sighed and continued to quietly stare across the street. She couldn't see anything when Judy followed his gaze, but her keen hearing picked up some faint rustling noises from the alley. After a few moments he spoke again. "A couple days later, I turned on the news to see Rufus being interviewed by a reporter from ZNN. He was bawling his eyes out, and I remember laughing and thinking what a crybaby he was. Until he finally calmed down enough to tell his story." Nick shifted uncomfortably and paused for a few moments. "It seems he'd been spending his allowance on old clothes from a thrift store, wrapping them, and handing them out to homeless mammals. Then I realized Rufus and the news crew were just down the street from the alley where we'd hassled him, the same alley where a homeless mouse had been discovered that morning. He'd frozen to death, and Rufus was the one who found him."

Nick's breath hitched and Judy reached over to place her paw on his arm. "Nick, you… you were just-"

He interrupted her. "Lemme finish." Nick took a deep breath before he smiled wanly and placed his paw on hers. "I learned a few hard lessons that day, and I've carried the guilt with me for a long time. There are some things I can't fix from my past, but because of you, I know it's never too late to be a better mammal." As he finished speaking, Judy saw a mouse emerge from the alley. He wore a ragged sweater, and the small rodent looked around hesitantly for a few moments. The mouse pulled on a new coat before hurrying down the street and Nick spoke again. "I've never really told you before, Judy, but thank you. For everything."


End file.
